Many companies still rely on applications that are older than some of their employees. Over the years, these systems have been customized, expanded, and connected to other applications. They often work reliably and handle tasks for which there is no obvious better alternative.
Yet at some point, they become a problem. Not necessarily because the technology is outdated, but because the systems increasingly operate in isolation. Information is scattered across different databases, departments maintain their own applications, and even simple questions require data from multiple sources.
For CIOs and CTOs, this creates an expensive dilemma: Should they replace perfectly functional applications simply because their data cannot easily be used together?
Cluu, the digitalization platform developed by Softwarehelden, offers another approach. It accesses existing databases directly, connects their information through a shared virtual data model, and makes it available to new applications. The existing systems remain in place. What changes is how companies work with their data.
Legacy Systems Often Hold Valuable Knowledge
Anyone who has tried to replace an enterprise application that has evolved over decades knows that the challenge goes far beyond software.
These systems contain countless business decisions made over the years. Rules introduced for good reasons. Exceptions that had to be accommodated. Workflows tailored to the needs of individual departments.
Much of this knowledge is poorly documented, if it is documented at all. Transferring it into a new application can be surprisingly difficult.
Replacing a system therefore often means rebuilding existing processes, migrating data, and adapting numerous interfaces. That takes time and money. It also introduces the risk that certain functions may be missing or behave differently after the transition.
But what if replacing the system isn't actually necessary?
Consider automotive development. Test orders are managed in a test management application, vehicle configurations are stored in another database, and measurement data resides in specialized systems. Each application does its job.
Things become complicated when an engineer needs to find out which measurement results belong to a particular vehicle configuration, what issues were recorded, and whether those findings led to additional tests.
All the information exists. It simply lives in different places.
What If the Data Could Stay Where It Is?
Traditionally, companies address this problem by building additional interfaces, exporting data, or consolidating information in a central database.
These approaches work, but they also create new dependencies. Data must be transferred, synchronized, and sometimes stored multiple times. A change in the structure of a source system can affect several downstream applications.
Cluu takes a different approach.
At the heart of the platform is a virtual, graph-based database. It allows information from different sources to be connected without necessarily moving it out of the systems where it originally resides.
The data stays where it is. Cluu accesses it through the appropriate connections and represents the relationships between different business objects in a shared data model.
This model is based on an ontology, which describes the objects within an organization and how they relate to one another.
A test order, for example, belongs to a project. It involves a particular vehicle, uses a specific test specimen, and generates measurement results. Those results may be connected to issue reports or approvals.
Cluu makes these relationships accessible across system boundaries.
For users, this creates a unified view of information that is still physically stored in different databases.
Because Cluu can access connected data sources directly, applications can also work with current information. Actual data freshness and response times depend, among other things, on the underlying systems and their interfaces.
The Real Value Lies in What You Build on Top
Connecting data provides the technical foundation. The benefits become more tangible when companies use that foundation to develop new applications.
This is where Cluu's low-code capabilities come into play.
Instead of building every part of a custom application from scratch, developers can implement much of it through models, configuration, and reusable functionality. This includes user interfaces, business rules, and workflows.
An automotive manufacturer, for example, could create an application that allows engineers to manage test orders, view vehicle configurations, access measurement data, and document test results in one place.
The information would still come from the existing systems. The new interface would bring it together in a way that reflects how engineers actually work.
That has a practical advantage. When a department needs additional information or an approval process changes, the company doesn't necessarily have to modify its entire application landscape.
Changes can be implemented in the new application, provided the underlying interfaces and data models support them.
Low-code reduces the amount of repetitive development work. Custom requirements can often be implemented faster because less code needs to be written from scratch and maintained over time.
Of course, traditional software development doesn't disappear entirely. Complex integrations, specialized business logic, or demanding performance requirements may still call for custom code.
Not Every Legacy Application Needs Replacing
For IT leaders, the appeal of this approach is the freedom to make more selective modernization decisions.
A reliable legacy system doesn't need to be replaced simply because its user interface looks outdated or other applications need access to its data.
It can continue doing what it was designed to do, while Cluu makes its information available for new processes and applications.
There are limits, however. Direct database queries can put additional load on source systems. Different data structures need to be connected in a way that makes business sense. Access permissions and data ownership must remain clearly defined across system boundaries.
Some applications will still need to be replaced. Others may require additional interfaces or targeted data replication.
The goal is to make the right decision for each system rather than treating the entire IT landscape as one enormous replacement project.
Build New Software Without Starting From Scratch
Combining virtual data integration with low-code changes how companies can approach custom software development.
Traditionally, introducing a new application often meant dealing with two difficult questions: How do we migrate the existing data, and how do we recreate the functionality we already have?
When data can be accessed directly from existing systems, some of that work becomes unnecessary. Developers can spend more time building the processes and capabilities the business actually needs.
This can shorten development cycles and reduce costs. More importantly, it allows companies to improve their software incrementally without turning every change into a major migration project.
For CIOs and CTOs, it also offers a different way to think about their existing IT infrastructure. Older systems can remain valuable parts of a modern architecture.
Their age alone says little about whether they need to be replaced. What matters is whether their data and functionality can support new requirements.
Cluu helps companies make use of these existing investments rather than abandoning them prematurely. Modernization becomes an ongoing process that builds on what is already there, instead of starting over every time the business needs something new.
